Luke Pollard MP has this week given his support to a campaign led by the Blue Marine Foundation which calls for underwater areas to get the same supports as national parks.

Plymouth Sound declared its status as a National Marine Park in 2019 and is now being held up as an example of efforts to protect Britain’s unique marine environments.

Luke has fully endorsed the calls for more snorkelling trails, underwater sculpture parks, better access to water for swimmers, and more educational activities to show people what marine life is living in local waters.

Luke Pollard MP said:

“There’s an enormous potential and opportunity not just to test and prove that a national marine park works in Plymouth Sound but then to roll it out right round the country.

 

“We have an enormous array of diverse biodiversity in our waters. We have some absolutely special marine habitats but the designations are often complicated and wordy and I don’t think that people always understand how marine protection works.

 

“It’s much easier understanding it on land. People value a national park. They value an area of outstanding natural beauty they can see it. It’s often harder to see it in the marine environment which is why that plain English descriptor of being a national marine park is something that is so very important.”

The Blue Marine Foundation are currently starting discussions across the UK in areas where they would like to see more protections.

• Dorset, Solent and the Isle of Wight to Sussex

• London Gateway, North Kent & South Essex

• Suffolk, The Wash & North Norfolk

• Tyne to Tees Seascape, Northumberland and Berwickshire

• Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel

• The Isles of Scilly

• Pembrokeshire

• Argyll Coast & Islands

• Jersey

Click here to read more information on this project on planetradio.co.uk.

For more information on the Blue Marine Foundation, visit their website.